Merry Monks’ Ale

Merry Monks’ is a bottle-conditioned Belgian-style abbey tripel, available year-round. It can be cellared to mature.

ABV: 9.3ABW: 7.4Color: 3.5Bitterness: 15Original gravity: n/a

Continuing the European theme, this 9.3% beer demands you lock the car in the garage and throw another log on the fire. It has a massive peppery and spicy hop aroma with a whole meal bread note. The spicy hops build in the mouth, balanced by creamy malt and a lychee-like luscious sweetness. The long and complex finish is bittersweet, with rich malt, peppery hops and tangy fruit. As you’d expect from a beer of this strength, there’s also a rich, warming alcohol note. A fabulous dessert beer: lychees anyone?- Roger Protz

The cork needs little encouragement to pop, and the dark golden beer forms a big-bubbled white head. A thick blanket of yeast rouses from the bottom of the bottle, which slowly sends up a climbing cloud of foam out the top. The aroma reminds me powerfully of the Bazooka bubble gum I loved as a kid. It smells rather like weissbier. The palate opens with a sweet blast of fruit, but hops hold it in check until it dries into the long finish. This is quite a mouthful of beer—it certainly shows no monkish reticence. That’s fine—Thai duck in coconut curry isn’t shy either.- Garrett Oliver

Roger ProtzRoger Protz is the author of Complete Guide to World Beer and 300 Beers to Try Before You Die. He is a respected beer authority and editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.

Garrett OliverInternationally recognized brewer and expert on traditional beer, Garrett Oliver is the brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery and the author of The Brewmaster's Table.